Icicle Heart
by Hilarious Bread
Summary: It's been a year since Lyra defeated Champion Lance and collected all 16 badges of Jhoto and Kanto. Green, Blue, Lyra, and Black have ventured to Mount Silver at Professor Oak's request, and they find something unexpected. SoulfulheartShipping.  LyraxRed
1. Chapter 1

It all started when Lyra defeated Lance. Blue was a bit impressed with her, and challenged Lyra to go retrieve the other 8 badges from Kanto. Of course, Lyra obliged to her challenge, and in less than a month she had plowed down the competition. Blue decided on the final gym battle she would go and watch, since her friend Green was the leader. He was crushed under Lyra's tennis shoes. Green seemed vaguely surprised. A friendship sparked in between the three, eventually bringing their groups of friends together. That was a year ago.

Since then Professor Oak had asked Green to research the habitat of Mount Silver to study how the Pokemon there survived. Green was pained at first to accept. Red used to be his best friend, even though he never thought that Red felt the same way. He was always torn off from reality. He spoke almost to no one unless it was mandatory, and his face never gave away any emotion. He was an amazing trainer, though, easily commanding his Pokemon, even without words. He went up Mount Silver a couple years ago, never came down.

Green hoped for a while that he was all right, but several other trainers climbed Mount Silver and couldn't find a trace of him. Green let the realization hit him. Red was dead. There was no way he could be alive, not in those conditions. Several reports even said that Pokemon wouldn't wander to the peak. Living there would be suicide. Maybe that's what he wanted.

So, Green took the job. Blue and Lyra decided to come with him, along with Black, a trainer from Unova, who just wanted to see the mountain up close. When the word got out to him that three other trainers were going, he demanded to go, too.

And there they were, in a cramped cottage. It had two bedrooms, a living room with an old fashioned TV and a couch (which was also partly connected to the kitchen), and one bathroom. Oh Arceus, the horror of having four people under one roof with one bathroom. The small home was part of a town at the base of the mountain. It was pretty easy to get to Mount Silver.

Blue and Lyra had claimed the living room as their bedroom, Black and Green getting separate rooms. They switched of using the couch, usually stayed up late into the night watching TV or gossiping.

Lyra usually accompanied Green on his expeditions, trailing along behind him happily some days, observantly helping him study the habits of Pokémon on other days, but mostly she just went off on her own to train in the main cave system. Green warned her not to go far, and she smiled at him, but not in a sly way, and agreed, telling him that he shouldn't worry too much.

Black also came along about once a week, but he disliked the cold and ended up complaining about it continuously. Green was fed up with it, but Lyra seemed amused, and usually stuck around when he decided to come. This usually ending with a snowball fight and Black running home.

Today was one of those days. Green glanced behind him, the snow crunching under his feet, as he heard the two other people behind him scurry around making snowballs. Black got a good one to the face, and Arceus, that snow is icy. Lyra laughed at him and fled into the main cave, taking out a Pokeball while she did. Black did the same and sprinted after her as quickly as the snow allowed.

Green sighed. "Don't go too far!" He called after them. He doubted that they heard.

It was about 3 PM when they came back. Lyra was stumbling along the slope, trying to move quickly. She was gripping something in her hands, and her face conveyed excitement. Black was looking around. Seeing that Green was nowhere to be found, he shouted to her, "Let's head back! I don't see Green."

She nodded happily, and they made their way home.

Blue was furious when they arrived, "You morons!" She roared at them, "Do you know how long you've been gone!" Lyra hid the item behind her back.

"An amount of time that you won't rip our heads off our bodies for?" Black tried.

"We have a surprise for you guys if you don't rip them off." Lyra smiled widely. Blue quirked an eyebrow.

"What kind of surprise?"

"Get Green and sit on the couch."

Blue gave a suspicious look and scurried off to get Green. Lyra and Black stood in front of the couch. She turned to Black. "Do you want to give it to them?" Her head tilted ever so slightly. He shrugged, staring where Blue had run off to.

"Can't this wait? I'm writing the report up…" Green mumbled from down the hall.

"No! Now come on." Blue came out dragging Green, and they both sat on the couch. Green eyed them with a tint of curiosity.

"We found something that you guys would probably like to have. We found it on one of the lower slopes under some snow." Black said slightly quieter than usual. He nodded to Lyra, and she pulled the item out from behind her back. In her gentle hands was an item that caused Green to gawk and Blue to gasp. It was a hat. Not any hat, though. It was Red's hat.

Lyra held it out to them with a polite smile. "Here." Blue took it, observing the clothing accessory. It was soaking wet now that the ice had melted off it, but it was definitely his.

"Holy shit…" Green finally managed to say. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

"So..," Lyra started Blue looked up at her. "That means he might be alive, right?" Blue stared, and then looked back at the hat in her hands. Green muttered something under his breath. The hat still looked relatively in good condition. Nobody said anything for a while. Minutes passed, and Lyra broke the silence, but ever so gently. Her voice was small and quiet. "… I want to battle him." Green shook his head silently.

His neon eyes looked to hers. They were blazing. "He's probably not there. It would be crazy to go to the peak."

"We don't know if he's there or not." Black muttered.

"Yeah, what if everyone thinks that? Nobody's going to go to the peak to just go there." Lyra paused. "Maybe that's why nobody's seen him." The silence took over again. Blue looked at green. Her eyes were piercing. He ignored her. Black's eyes drifted to Green, and suddenly the pressure of the whole group was placed onto him. He sighed, leaning back into the cushions.

"I guess we should get ready for our little adventure, then." Black and Lyra smiled at each other, exchanging a fist pound. Blue beamed and tackle-hugged him. Green sighed again. i'I must be crazy.'/i


	2. Chapter 2

The coming day went by slowly. The group put of winter coats and traveled to the center of town to gather supplies for the trip, and also to get warmer gloves. Green still seemed unsure about the journey. Blue motioned for them to crowd around. She was holding several papers. They seemed to be detailed maps of the area. "Look, it's perfect! The main path goes almost all the whole way up the mountain through several cave systems." Intricate lines showed which paths to take to get to the top. "Only part of the climb will actually be outside."

"Woot," Black mumbled. He was currently stuffing a hotdog in his mouth- At first Green had reprimanded him for his sloppy way of eating, but as you constantly repeat yourself it gets dull, and you realize no matter how many times you tell them they won't listen. So they let him be. Lyra was the one who connected best with Black. They both like videogames, unlike Green or Blue. The only problems were that Lyra was pretty good, and Black had a firey temper. It wasn't just the 'Explode and go dormant' temper, though. It was the 'Explode and erupt constantly for unexpected amount of times' anger, depending on the situation. Therefore he was usually left to do what he wanted.

Green gave him a predicted look of disproval, but Blue seemed too consumed in the map to notice. A few moments of silence went by as the other three observed over Blue's shoulders. It seemed relatively simple.

"When are we leaving?" Lyra asked, moving out from behind Blue and taking a seat next to Green.

"We could go tomorrow, I suppose we're ready," He muttered, staring at the snow-blotched bricks. "We have Pokémon after all, and we're all highly ranked trainers. Each of us having a Fire Pokémon will probably be enough."

"Eh, about that," Black interrupted. "I don't exactly have a Fire-Type." He was already done with his hotdog, and sheepishly ducking his head. Green sighed, slapping his hand to his face.

"It's always you, isn't it?" He moaned tiredly. Lyra giggled a bit.

"It's fine, I've got two, guys," She said, a smile still in her voice. She turned to Black. "A Typhlosion and a Houndoom. You can have Houndoom."

He groaned. "Don't Houndoom have spikes on their backs and stuff?"

"Your loss," Green muttered. Black ignored him.

"Technically they're bones. And not spikes, lumps."

"Wonderful," He replied dryly.

"Come on!" All three of their heads snapped to the sidewalk, where Blue was walking home. They hadn't even noticed that she had left, and she looked a bit frustrated with them. A death stare was thrown their way as they ran to catch up.

They all decided to go to bed early, the weather was said to be better in the morning. Blue shut her eyes and stayed silent, pretending to be asleep. She waited a couple minutes- knowing Lyra she fell asleep quickly. Blue looked over cautiously at the couch, and saw that her eyes were closed. She got up quietly, and gracefully made her way towards Green's room. She knocked lightly, and a weary voice answered curtly. "What?" She knocked again. A sigh. "Fine. Come in."

Blue opened the door carefully, knowing it had squeaky hinges, and stepped inside. Green was reading a book about what seemed to be about Ice-Type Pokemon, and for some reason was still in his . Seeing this, Blue snorted, walked over, and took it away, closing it on her finger to keep his page. She gave him a serious stare. "Look. Why are you so uptight about this? Like you said, we're all experienced trainers."

"What makes you think I'm uptight?" He asked, crossing his arms behind his head and lying back. His face reflected her seriousness.

"Well, for one thing, you do that," She said, imitating his arms. "And you get a lot more serious, which you've been doing lately."

He stared at her.

"Look, we've been friends forever," Blue said softly, "You can tell me anything and I won't tell a soul. I've trusted you with that before. Please just tell me what's up."

Green sighed, defeated. He moved his arms out of his flawed position, and crossed them now across his chest. He looked away a bit, and green saw this as embarrassment. When he was silent for a good 5 seconds she opened her mouth to speak again, but he broke. "To tell the truth, I'm scared." He spat at the word 'Scared,' and seemed angry to even be referring to it and himself in the same sentence. Blue added it to her list of why boys are idiots.

"We're perfectly capable of gett-"

"I'm not talking about us." Green said quietly. He was now looking at her. "I'm scared… That we'll find him, and he'll be dead." Green said this in an immensely quiet voice. The quietest Blue had heard him be unless planning something behind an enemy's back. And it set a pang of fear into her, too. He was shivering slightly, and she gave him a small hug. "Lyra and Black are a good 3 years younger than us… To see that at their age… I would be terrified."

Blue nodded into his shoulder. "I would be, too," She adopted the same quiet tone, "but it'll work out. Green… Just…," She felt his eyes on her, "don't worry so much. I'll do the worrying. You get some sleep." She looked to him and smiled softly. He was staring at her with a sense of admiration, and she left on that note, closing the door quietly. 'Good night.'

So, there they were, in front of the deadly mound of ice and rock known as Mount Silver. They stood in front to the main cave, backpacks equipped and Fire-Types walking beside them. Green looked ahead. Everything seemed clear enough. He turned. "Alright. We should be able to get to the top considering there isn't a storm. If there is one, then our Fire Pokémon should be able to tough it out and get us through it." He looked up; only to see that the top of the mountain wasn't even visible- clouds hazed the vision so that you could barely see a hundred feet up.

Blue began to push her boots through the snow leaving a trail that Black carefully followed in. You could tell he was second-guessing going up there. Blue glanced back with a small smile. "Let's get going, then."

The group climbed the mountain in silence most of the day, apart from the occasional "Damn, it's cold!" and "Holy shit, almost fell," from Black. Successfully taking the correct cave tunnels and ledges they didn't have much trouble. Black slipped once, but Houndoom snapped at his shirt quickly enough to catch him in her jaws. He was a bit surprised, but not injured. Occasionally their feet got stuck in holes under the snow, which were most likely dug by Sneasle, but they were relatively easy to pull out of, especially with others to aid you. At the end of the day everyone was a bit cold, but safe, and they found a ledge to camp under.

Everything seemed relatively calm. Blue's Rapidash rested next to her, and served as the fire considering that most of the Pokémon had flames spouting off it. A few quiet conversations started as they leaned against the ledge's wall.

"I thought climbing a mountain would be more exciting," Lyra said.

"Yeah, but if you think about it, it's a pile of rocks." Black replied sourly. He didn't seem to like the cold weather. Houndoom yawned widely, showing off her rows of pearly whites, and snuggled affectionately into Black's side. He glanced awkwardly at the Pokémon, and then back to the darkened slopes.

Blue smirked a bit. "I think Houndoom has the right idea, we should get some sleep." She curled up next to Rapidash (who trusted her, so she wasn't burned), and closed her eyes. Lyra followed suit, hugging her Typhlosion gently around the neck like a huge stuffed animal. It grumbled a bit, but in a playful manner.

Green remained silent, and made no attempt to sleep. He wouldn't be able to, anyways.


	3. Chapter 3

Green kept a weary watch the whole night. Arcanine sat next to him wide awake, loyal enough to his master to remain alert. Arcanine seemed okay staying up the whole night, but Green looked drowsy as he leaned into his Pokémon's thick fur. The sun was rising slowly into the sky, and the snow glittered in the faint light. Over to the left on the horizon didn't look so peaceful, though. Gray clouds hovered menacingly. Green gave them an agitated look.

On a Cliffside across from them Pokémon were staring at the sky, and decided to retire back to their caves. Arcanine noticed this, and nudged Green, who followed the wolf Pokémon's gaze. A pair of Weavile dodged back into a small cave, and some Glaceon howled to each other from a couple cliffs away. They jumped across the snowy rocks and proceeded to travel to lower ground. This gave Green a sinking feeling. A storm was coming.

He got up stiffly, stretched, and prodded Blue softly in the stomach. She muttered something about narwhals and flipped over, away from Green. He scrunched his nose up in frustration, and nudged her again. This time she came around, and looked at him, dazed. "What…?" She asked drowsily, apparently mildly annoyed.

He glanced at the sky, and back to her. "Storm." He replied simply. She propped herself up on her elbows, craning her neck to see over her fat Rapidash. She also noticed the gray in the corner of the sky's canvas, and plopped down onto the stone floor.

"Sonofagun." Blue said simply, closing her eyes again. "Five more minutes…" She vaguely whined. He shook his head no, but seeing that her eyes were closed, she didn't notice. Green sighed hopelessly.

He tried to get the others up next. Black awakened with a foul mood and an equally foul look to give Green for waking him, but cooperated. Lyra was up quickly, but her Typhlosion was another matter. She went to locate a stick to poke her Pokemon with.

Blue finally caved in and decided to get up. The Pokemon were wide-awake besides Typhlosion, and Green decided he had done a decent job of organizing everyone. The clouds hadn't moved much, but a chilling wind was picking up. Lyra had returned with a giant branch, and proceeded in jabbing her Typlosion until he stood up.

Blue was walking outside when it began to snow. She sighed pitifully. "We better get going, fast." Lyra came up next to her, a grumbling Typhlosion in pursuit. She gave Blue a small smile, but it wasn't returned. Her mind was elsewhere; filled with the worry Green had plagued her with.

The team regrouped, and head towards the top of the mountain once again. Blue was leading the group on quickly with her mapping skills, but even so the second day was more treacherous than the first. Gradually the weather got worse and worse. The intense wind irritated their eyes, and the biting cold their toes and fingers. Lyra concluded that climbing a mountain was not exciting at the least.

They struggled on, until the wind got so fierce that they needed to mount their Pokemon to keep from falling off the cliff. Their combined weights gave them more sure footing, and nobody was complaining about the Fire-Types' warmth. Black unfortunately had no fur or mane to burrow his face into, and could be seen clinging to the Houndoom desperate to keep warm. If Lyra hadn't been freezing slowly she would have thought it was hilarious, but she really couldn't care less what Black did at the time.

Blue halted suddenly. Behind the mild haze the blizzard created in front of them, a tall rock wall stood in front of them. Rapidash turned around, and Blue faced them. She had to shout over the blizzard. "Well, 2 days! That's not a bad time! I don't think it counts with riding on Pokemon three fourths of the way, though!" Lyra blinked. It didn't seem like they went most of the journey on their Pokemon. "Unfortunately… There's a wall. Anyone have Rock Climb?" They glanced around at each other, yet nobody seemed to have the HM on them. Lyra spoke up.

"Typhlosion knows Rock Climb." Her voice was almost swept away in the snowfall.

Blue motioned for her to come up to the wall, and Rapidash moved over to the side. Typhlosion walked to the rocky slope, looking up. The glint in its eyes conveyed that it believed it was manageable. He set a glowing claw to the rough surface.

"Wait!" It was Green's voice. Arcanine galloped over, and Green bent down from the Pokemon's back. He was gripping something in his hands. "Please, take this to him…" He decided not to finish the sentence. His eyes were sad. Lyra nodded, and grasped it. She nodded to Typhlosion, and the Fire-Type began scaling the rock with lengthened claws. With one hand Lyra held onto her Pokemon, and with the other she gripped the item protectively. It was Red's hat.

Thank you so much for the support, guys! :D I'm happy that you like the story! w


	4. Chapter 4

As they went up, both the wind and the snow increased. Ice began to coat the rocks more frequently, and it got harder to even stay on the cliff face, let along climb up it. Typhlosion began to slide back down as his claws slipped. He dug them in harder with a low growl, straining his muscles to go on.

Typhlosion snarled at the challenging terrain, and pushed himself harder. The elements continued to rage more and more ferociously, and it became more and more difficult to stay latched to the rocks. They were about halfway up, but there was still a long way to go. Lyra noticed that they were having trouble climbing on the small slippery ledges. She called a command into Typhlosion's ear to make sure it didn't drift away, and moved down the Pokemon's back as they stopped. A fire suddenly roared on her Pokemon's neck, the fire licking at her. A hissing sound echoed, and the fire died down back into the Pokemon's internal system. Lyra clambered fully onto her Pokemon again, hesitant to see what would happen. Rocks could have been sealed to the mountain by ice, and breaking that bond might've sent a rockslide upon them. However, all seemed normal, except for the rough storm. They continued more quickly.

The top was in sight, Lyra noticed, after peering through the storm nonstop. Snow and ice had frozen in her hair and eyelashes. Even Typhlosion's heat couldn't seem to fight back the cold as she began to feel his body temperature drop with her own. "Almost there!" She cheered, and he grunted in response. His claws scratched rhythmically into the surface, the continuous sound seeming to mix into a melody.

She smiled slightly.

CHHHH...

Typhlosion stopped short. His claw was digging into a rock that seemed oddly bulging from the mountain. He tried to pull it out slowly, which resulted in slow crackling sounds. He stopped, but the sound didn't. The slope began to fall away above them, and cracks began to split in between Typhlosion's paws.

Typhlosion barely had time to push off the cliff and jump to the side, where he gripped his nails once again into the ledge. The entire right side of the cliff began to fall away, and Lyra screamed down to the bottom of the slope. She thought her words were lost in the howling blizzard, but a familiarly large, white glow faintly became visible, and she smiled. Houndoom had heard her and was able to use Protect in time. Typhlosion was also looking down. He nodded, satisfied, and continued up the mountain. It took about twenty-five more minutes, but none other unfortunate events occurred, and Typhlosion finally grappled the edge of the cliff with his claws. He clambered up the remaining slope, and Lyra gifted him with a thankful hug before continuing on up a mild slope.

Soon the wind began to die down, and two rock walls appeared on the edges of the mountain. Between them the wind was eerily calm. The snow also subsided to a slow decent, and as Lyra shuffled through the soft layers she noticed a grey, stone path of carefully placed slate. It was the first touch of human existence on the mountain. Near the edges of the path were odd berries that seemed to look like cherries, and she plucked a few. Green would want to look at them.

The end of the sheltered path came into view steadily. Lyra and Typhlosion could see that the sun was going down, and shadows began to creep from the rocky ledges.

Finally they made it to a clearing that seemed strangely flat, besides some steps and another platform made of stone. It overlooked the whole mountain, and looked as if it fell off into the snowy nothingness. Lyra suddenly froze, Typhlosion, who had been following behind, following suit as they both stared in awe. A figure was watching the sun set below the clouds, standing utterly still. His back was to them, but they could see his thin frame, jet-black hair, and red jacket easily. Red was alive.

Lyra stood as still as a statue, not daring to take a breath. Red didn't seem to notice her presence, yet her heart thundered with excitement and nervousness. She took a hesitant step forward. No reaction. Lyra didn't know if that was good or bad. Typhlosion stayed at the mouth of the valley-like tunnel.

Steadily she continued onward, stepping carefully and trying to keep her snow boots quiet. The soft snow muffled most of the sound, though, and she was able to make it to the steps without being noticed. Red hand seemed to twitch as she set her boot on the stone, making a small thumping sound against the rock. She looked to the movement, and noticed something about his hands that made her flinch. They were blackened by the cold, most likely frostbite, but she had never seen it in person. It looked painful.

His head moved soon after, and he barely took a glance over his shoulder at her before bluntly ignoring that she was even there. His eyes were shockingly cold for how they blazed with red color. She stepped forward nervously, and came to stand next to him quietly. He refused to look at her, and stared into the array of colors that was the sunset. Lyra glanced at him.

"You're Red, right?" She asked quietly. He twitched irritably. She thought to herself that her question was a stupid one. Lyra looked down at her hands, where his hat was clutched in her fingers. She blinked at it, and held it out to him. "This is yours."

Red finally decided to look at her, and his gaze looked venomous, but as he glanced at the item in her hand his eyes softened. He tried to take it, but came across a bit of trouble; his fingers seemed frozen stiff. Lyra smiled softly, bashfully bringing the hat to his head for him. Red surprisingly let her, and she secured it firmly on his head. Lyra's hand brushed his cheek as she pulled away, and he flinched.

It ... burned. Red's knees abruptly went weak, and he collapsed to the snow smeared rock. Lyra gasped beside him, and kneeled quickly, timidly grabbing his shoulder. "Red…?"

His eyes flickered closed.


	5. Chapter 5

Lyra had /no fucking idea/ what to do. Frankly, nobody had randomly passed out in front of her before at her touch, but then again she had never climbed a mountain before, either. Typhlosion had been watching, and sprinted over, kicking up snow behind him. He slid to stop, and began to sniff Red curiously. Lyra swatted away his muzzle, and tried shaking Red slightly, then a bit more roughly. He didn't stir. She looked to Typhlosion, and brought out a pokeball. "Please return, Typhlosion!" The red light hit him, and he was put back into his Pokeball. Two people would be too many for him.

Withdrawing another Pokeball, she tossed it in front of them, and a large Skarmory appeared. It cawed ferociously, expecting to battle. Seeing the winter wasteland seemed to make it scowl. "Skarmory, I need you to fly us down the mountain." It stared at its trainer blankly, as if asking if she was kidding. She wasn't. It nodded and reluctantly offering its wings to them, and Lyra struggled to pull him onto the bird.

Skarmory seemed to stumble a bit and Lyra mounted, clutching the champion close to her. "Let's go!" Skarmory made a running start, leaping into the air strongly. It seemed a bit harder with two people, but the metal wings were bursting with strength, and Lyra knew Skarmory would be able to pull through. They shot out of the valley-like sanctuary and into the treacherous winds. Luckily they seemed to have enough weight to not get blown away, and Skarmony swooped down. A red glow was coming into view. Rapidash's flame. Lyra whispered to Skarmory, and it cawed to the other Pokemon. It was time to go.

Lyra found it hard to keep on Skarmory while also clutching another person in her arms. His frozen flesh seemed to burn her own skin, as her exposed hand was still gripping his shoulder. She pulled him closer.

There were now the cries of other flying type Pokémon in the air. The rest of the group had gotten the message. Despite the winds that raked at Skarmory's wings, they made a fast journey. However, the slopes seemed to rise up unexpectedly, and Skarmory had trouble maneuvering.

Lyra wrapped one of her arms around Skarmory's neck, desperately trying not to fall off as it wrenched left and right to avoid ledges. Red's breath seemed quieter, and he suddenly flinched, and then coughed.

Lyra strained her eyes, finding flickering lights through the snowy haze. Skarmory was increasing speed rapidly. Its sharp eyes had also found the target. Skarmory was still getting faster, and Lyra was beginning to feel nervousness in her gut.

A shadow abruptly leaped into view, and Skarmory barely had enough time to escape collision with most of the ledge. Its left wing hit, however, and Skarmory spiraled away, caught off guard by the rock and wind. No matter how hard Lyra tried to hang on, as Skarmory began to flip upside down from the blow her hands slipped from the metallic armor. And they were falling. Lyra grabbed Red with both arms now. She didn't know from how far, but she knew there was a nasty rock ledge waiting for their impact. Lyra tried to twist so that she could see the ground, but was wrenched to the side by something incredibly fast. She almost lost hold of the champion, but for once her grip was strong.

Her vision, at this point however, wasn't. Her head was pounding from being pulled away from the ground so rapidly. Lyra looked up to see a large brown bird. Skarmory had regained its flight, but was falling behind as they shot forward. Whatever Pokemon this was, it was going /fast/.

The blizzard began to subside at the foot of the mountain, which seemed about 800 feet down. The unforgiving wind subsided, the only air force the beating wings.

Coming to a slow stop at the base, Lyra and Red were dropped from the bird's claws into the snow, and she was able to see what it was. A Pidgeot, more specifically Green's. She sat up, flustered. Her mind was blank. His neon eyes locked with hers, and he leaped off the Pokemon, running to them and kneeling down. Lyra moved away, joined soon by Skarmory. Blue and Black had yet to come down the mountain.

Green felt Red's arm hesitantly, his eyes searching to see if he was alive. The younger boy shuddered and coughed again, and Green scooped Red up, clutching him protectively. Lyra thought she saw the glimmer of tears before he buried his face into the boy's collarbone. Lyra smiled thoughtfully. It must have been hard to loose someone for so long. If Gold or Silver had gone up there… Lyra didn't want to think of it.

A screech came from the cliff, and Lyra looked up to see a Braviary gliding down the slope. Both Blue and Black were present on its back, and landed next to the other two Flying-Type Pokemon. They leaped off, sprinting to where Green was embracing the unconscious champion.

Blue's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed as she inspected her friend further. She took one of his hands in hers. It was almost blackened completely. "Frostbite…, probably pneumonia and frostnip, too," She murmured, "and he's so scrawny." She was right. He /was/ very thin, and by just looking at his pale skin and wispy hair you could tell he hadn't been getting the nourishment a human needs.

Black moved back a bit, joining Lyra. He gave her a sort of awkward hug, and spoke up. "We need to get him someplace warm." He clenched his jaw shut, and Blue turned to Black, nodding.

She tapped green's shoulder. "Pidgeot's fastest."

He looked up at her, but neither Lyra nor Black could see his face, his back was to them. Green stood easily, still holding Red shieldingly. Pidgeot flew over to its master, and Green clambered up. With Pidgeot leading, they made their way back.

Lyra decided to never climb a mountain again.


	6. Chapter 6

At first Lyra thought they were headed toward the town. Pigeot was gaining speed at a breakneck pace, while the other Pokemon were tiring and slowing. Skarmory no longer had the speed it had going down the slope, its metal armor was now disabling it from going faster.

Braviary however was even further behind. The other Pokemon's experience outranked the red bird, and this seemed to frustrate Black. He clutched the Pokemon's feathers roughly. Blue glanced at Black, and placed one of her hands to his shoulder. He glanced at her, and seeing a somewhat comforting yet sad smile, he relaxed and sighed. He wouldn't be any help anyways.

* * *

><p>Green luckily knew the area well, and was aware that the Pokemon Center doubled as a human hospital. The league of Jhoto had too many people coming down from the mountains being injured or having caught a disease, and so they expanded the Center. This also helped the town spring up, as travelers usually avoided Mount Silver because of the rough terrain and strong Pokemon, both that can get you easily hurt.<p>

Red coughed again. It was incredibly weak, more of a wheeze. His breath was growing fainter. Green pulled him closer. He didn't want to loose Red, not after years of uncertainty. Not after he finally had him again.

Pidgeot could see the red top of the center, and pushed its muscles to go faster. He could tell it was important to his master to go quickly. Pidgeot got the picture of where Green wanted to go instantly as he looked to the unconscious boy and then into his master's eyes. Pidgeot was Green's most trusted Pokémon. They understood each other perfectly.

Streaks of glowing white flew off of Pidgeot's wings as he went even faster.

The building was now relatively close. Over the wind Green told Pidgeot to get ready to slow down. It cawed to express understanding. Seconds later Pidgeot extended its large wings, placing them more vertical to the ground, and flapping them to lower the forward speed. The Flying-Type slid in the snow onto the concrete, scrambling to stand in front of the door. Pidgeot came to a halt, bending down to let Green jump off. The Pokemon watched with intrigued eyes as Green sprinted through the Pokemon Center doors, wrenching them open awkwardly with one hand as if they couldn't open themselves more slowly.

Nurse Joy looked up from her computer, seemingly surprised to have someone come it. It was dusk outside- the days near Mount Silver's area were short. She seemed to understand quickly the drastic measure of the situation as Green ran over to her, and she ushered him down a hall. "Audino!" She called, guiding Green quickly into the closest room. She motioned to the bed, and he carefully set Red down, kneeling next to his side as Nurse Joy went back into the hall. He heard her call the Audino again in a more irritated voice.

Green's gut twisted. It was up to Joy now, he could do nothing else. She returned with a drowsy Audino. It must have been sleeping. Joy shooed him out, and with that he stepped out to the lobby to wait for the others.

* * *

><p>Sorry it's short.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

If you don't like needles, like epicly, I wouldn't read this, but it's really not that bad. I just know some people like this, so I want to be fair and warn you.

* * *

><p>Joy wasn't shocked by how badly the boy was sick, but she was that he was alive. Joy had seen him go up the mountain, he stopped to heal his Pokemon, didn't say a thing, and left. She had just started her training as a nurse, and wondered how long until he came down. Eventually she just forgot about the mysterious red-eyed boy. She had brought out her other Pokemon to aid her after Audino's request. His appearance was generally normal, but Audino's sharp hearing picked up that he wasn't breathing normally the second he walked into the room. Audino scratched at Joy's belt, which held her other Pokemon. She let them out, a Gardevoir and a Luxray. Audino briefly discussed something with the Luxray, and it turned to Red, eyes glowing gold. It growled something to the pink Pokemon, and Audino then nodded to Gardevoir. She looked to Joy, speaking through telepathically.<p>

'Luxray can see a lot of fluid in the lungs; it's pneumonia, definitely. In general he's pretty bad… It seems he's had hypothermia for a while. Malnourished; practically starving, Frostbite. Neither of them have any idea how he's lasted this long.' She motioned to the other Pokemon, who were the 'them' she was referring to.

Joy blinked, then nodded, glancing back to the boy. The wet clothes he wore would only make him colder. "Audino and Luxray, try and keep him warm. Gardevoir, get those wet clothes off him. I'm going to find any extra clothing I can in the Lost and Found."

'B- But,' Gardevoir stuttered. Her face went pink with embarrassment.

"Not all the way." Joy clarified with a huff, exiting the room and running towards the Center office. She thought to herself that sometimes Pokemon could be so immature. And at a time like this! Joy mumbled something under her breath, swinging the door open and rummaging through a wooden box full of forgotten clothes. She removed several pieces of clothing, mainly going for jackets, socks, and sweatpants.

Her mind swept to the pneumonia. She'd need to drain the fluid from his lungs, or he could suffocate. She pulled a cannula from a drawer under some cabinets, and made her way out of the room, running back to where the Pokemon were. Red's wet garments were folded and placed on the side table along with a Pokeball, and even though he wasn't completely stripped Gardevoir blushed fiercely. Audio and Luxray had coiled themselves around Red's unconscious form, careful not to put their weight on him. Audino was trying to reduce the frostbite in his hands with Heal Pulse. It didn't seem to be working, but when Luxray growled to him about it the Audino ignored the Lion, thinking he could see the color lighten ever so slightly.

Joy opened the door awkwardly; her hands full, and Gardevoir took the clothes from her. She placed the cannula on the table, trying to find a bucket or something. "Only the lower half, his lungs need to be drained." She noticed that the frail boy was beginning to shiver. Joy nodded a bit, that was a good sign. Shivering is the body's way of attempting to eliminate cold. Gardevoir motioned for Audino and Luxray to get off, and they jumped off the bed. Gardevoir put several of the layers onto him using Psychic, and sat him up.

'Pain killer?' The Pokemon asked curiously. Joy shook her head.

"No time," She replied. "Luxray, show me the area where the fluid is." The tip of Luxray's tail pointed to a part of Red's pale chest.

'…This'll hurt.' Gardevoir thought to herself. He remained limp, but coughed softly, his breathing was harder to maintain.

"Make sure he doesn't move." The nurse muttered. She didn't want to poke the wrong organ on accident. With that Joy plunged the needle into his side, and he suddenly was pulled out of consciousness, flinching at the piercing pain. He tried to struggle, but his body remained useless to him, too weak to react, and he fell into a coughing fit. He heard someone cuss. A Pokemon, who tipped his head up to meet her eyes, grabbed his arm forcefully. It looked like a Gardevoir. The eyes flashed purple, and suddenly the darkness that had been creeping slowly into his vision swallowed him up.

* * *

><p>It was done. The fluid was drained, and Joy patched up his side carefully. His breathing seemed less forced, but was still soft and weak. Audino was still working on the frostbite, which looked a pale shade off blue-black by then. It was working slowly, but decently. Gardevoir had put a couple of the sweatshirts and jackets on the passed out trainer, laying the rest out like blankets under the bed covers. Luxray wrapped himself around the boy. Despite their efforts he continued to shudder. Joy wondered if he's wake soon. He looked scrawny, and she supposed he could use some food.<p>

* * *

><p>Red awoke abruptly, but his eyelids were about the only things that flickered. His chest burned, along with most of his skin. The pain was almost unbearable, and he clenched his jaw shut tight, a small almost inaudible whimper escaping from his lips. Something shifted next to him, and even the small movement added to the needles that seemed to pierce him. Red closed his eyes, taking a small breath before he let his damaged body take its toll.<p>

* * *

><p>Green didn't sleep at all. He didn't seem to be the only one who lost sleep, though. Despite them not saying anything, Lyra fidgeted constantly, not able to get comfortable, Blue looking out the window into the blackness most the night, and was first to see the light of the morning. Black was the only one to get a decent sleep.<p>

Blue sat up as dawn appeared on the horizon. She carefully stepped down from the top bunk, and Lyra stirred under her on the bottom bunk as the ladder creaked. Green's head snapped up from playing around with his Pokedex, which was on mute. "Whatcha doing?" Lyra asked sleepily as Blue stepped onto the floor.

"…I want was just…" She trailed off, walking to the door. Green got up tiredly, sighing.

"May as well," he replied. He really didn't want to. At all. The new would come either way, though. Lyra followed silently behind them. They were all tense as they entered the lobby.

Nurse Joy was not in the lobby. They glanced around a bit, and made their way to the room Red was in. Blue glanced at them, and tentatively knocked on the door. Joy answered, casually sipping a cup of hot cocoa. "Oh, hello," She allowed them in, and they rushed to Red's side. He seemed asleep, or unconscious, but either way he looked peaceful. He was shivering despite a Luxray lying with him. An Audino was working on his frostbitten hands. Comparing one to the other, the hand Audino was working on looked a lot better. "He woke up once, but fell unconscious a couple seconds later."

Blue was kneeling next to Red, and brushed stray hair from his cheek. "So… He's okay?"

"For now, yes, but he's been shivering a lot. I don't exactly know why, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about." Joy smiled comfortingly. Lyra sat next to Blue, Green standing behind them. Lyra looked up at Green. He was smiling softly. With that he left.


	8. Chapter 8

Joy suggested keeping Red at the Center for a couple days to make sure he was all right, and the others agreed, resuming their normal life in the small cabin. Black and Lyra battled often, which usually ended with Lyra winning. A snowball fight usually ensued soon after. Blue and Green occasionally joined in the battles, Blue more often then Green, who still didn't have that report on Mount Silver's environment done.

About once a day they went into town, and they would go see Red. He was usually unconscious, but on rare occurrences his icy eyes would flicker, and he would glance tiredly at them, shift so the covers shielded most of his face, and close his eyes again, seemingly trying to ignore them. This caused Green to smile ever so slightly, and he would leave, taking the hint. The others left soon after him. Lyra watched Red curiously. He looked a lot better than he did when they got him off the mountain, and his hands were no longer blackened. She thought Red did look incredibly tired, though, and did her best to be quiet in his presence.

Blue usually stayed the longest, bringing a book to read. She didn't really have much to do anyways. Luxray enjoyed her company. She'd brush him for Joy sometimes, and the Pokemon seemed to love it. Today Lyra decided to stay with Blue, too, and sat on the bed next to her. The Luxray sighed; it was kinda a tight fit with all of them on the bed. Red also seemed unhappy about this, and fidgeted under the covers, turning his head to look over his shoulder at them. He must've not noticed them. Blue was staring at him, and he countered with an equally stiff gaze. A small smile formed on her lips, and he curled into a ball, facing away from them and covering his head with the covers.

Blue got up, and Red peaked out from under the covers, curious of what she was doing. She went around to the side he was on, and took the edge of the blankets. Red tentatively grabbed hold of them, he could tell what was about to happen, and his weak grip wouldn't be able to stop it. Blue whipped the covers off him, and Red was met with the chilling cold of the rest of the room. She held out a hand to him, and he stared at it, then at her, and shook his head.

"Oh, come on." Blue huffed. "Get up." Red sighed. She kicked the bottom of the bed.

"Come on, Red." Lyra smiled happily, moving to stand next to Blue. "You're not in that bad of shape." He glanced to her, then to Blue. Somehow he knew if he didn't get up they'd keep bugging him. Red pushed himself shakily to a sitting position, and began to cough a bit. He took Blue's hand, and she pulled him up. He stumbled but didn't fall, and stood to his full height. Lyra just noticed he looked almost a bit shorter than her, and she determined that compared to Green he was a whole foot off. Green was pretty tall, though. Red was wearing black sweatpants and a crimson sweatshirt. He blinked tiredly, and stared Blue pleadingly.

"Yeah, yeah. Go back to bed if you want." She waved him off, and he curled back up in the covers, watching them for a couple seconds before dozing off. Blue motioned for Lyra to exit with her, and once the door was closed, told her matter-of-factly, "Red's fine. Joy shouldn't have to look after him when nothing's wrong with him."

Lyra shrugged. "That makes sense." In response Blue walked back in the room, woke Red from his sleep rather rudely, and ushered him out of the room. She grabbed his clothes and Pokeball, but looked around a bit confused. She thought Red had more than one Pokemon. Maybe her memory was just wrong. Shrugging she exit after him. Red blinked at her, and sighed.

After informing Nurse Joy of their conclusion they both gave Red their jackets and guided him out of the center into the cold. He tripped in the snow banks along the sidewalk, but aside from that the walk was uneventful. They entered the small house, and Black, who had been watching TV, looked surprised to see Red. Lyra kicked Black off the couch, saying he could sit on the floor, letting the champion lie down on the furniture. He passed out almost instantly, letting sleep take him. Blue put some blankets on him.

Green was focused on his paper, so nobody bothered him. The rest of the day was peaceful.


	9. Chapter 9

Lyra found herself looming around Red often. She was curious about him, even though he was asleep most of the time. When he was awake, he gave her the evil eye before ignoring her. In fact, he didn't seem very happy with the presence of others in general, but put up with Blue and Green. Blue fussed with him often, and Black and Lyra watched, amused, as Blue attempted to comb his matted hair or scrub the dirt from his fingernails. Sometimes he'd win and she'd leave him be, sometimes he let out a sigh of defeat and sit up. Black thought it was hilarious. Lyra thought it was kind of cute.

There was one thing she was concerned about, though. Red barely ate anything, and would mostly refuse offers for food. He was already skinny enough. Blue seemed frustrated about this and would shout at him occasionally, but she could see concern pooling in her ocean-like eyes, and understood. What she was worried about was that Red didn't. He would avert his gaze from them and look out the window whenever Blue did that.

Today was one of those days. Blue had convinced him to sit with the rest of them at the small table during dinner, at least. The first few minutes were shrouded in awkward silence, but finally Black broke the silence, huffing loudly and crossing his arms. "Are you guys /trying/ to make this weird? Look, guys, let's just figure out something to talk about, and we can go from there. I mean, Arceus."

Lyra laughed. "I guess he's right," She replied. The rest of the night played out pretty normally. Red ended up eating a decent amount of food, which seemed to lift the mood.

Everyone finally decided to go to bed after a game of Risk, which really was only between Green and Black. Nobody else really wanted to play the seemingly never-ending game. It took about 3 hours to finish, during which Blue, Lyra, and Red watched TV drowsily. 2 hours in Blue fell asleep on the floor.

Green and Black turned in, well, Green did. Black shouted with rage as his last forces were defeated and stormed off. (Lyra was surprised it didn't wake Blue up, it certainly made both herself and Red jump.) Green shrugged with a chuckle, cleaning up the tiny blocks of wood and the game board. With that he retreated to his room, leaving the three alone in the living room. Blue was kind of sprawled halfway on her sleeping bag, and Lyra sighed a bit, wondering to herself what Blue's reaction would be if she tried to move her. Probably an angry one.

Lyra decided against bothering her, and crossed her legs pretzel style. She sighed, getting up to grab a blanket from one of the closets. Coming back she just decided to lie down on the floor. It wouldn't end up hurting her back /that/ much. Rolling to her side she found Red staring at her. He blinked at her, then looked away out the window. She followed his gaze. The moon was a small sliver of a crescent. Glancing back at the other figure, she noticed he looked sort of troubled, a bit paler than usual if that's possible. Her head tilted slightly in confusion as he continued to stare out the glass barrier.

"You alright?" She asked as casually as possible, staring at the ceiling instead of at Red. This was a small problem since he wouldn't speak. Eventually a rustling of blankets caught her attention, and she glanced over to see that he had turned to the other side, facing the cushions of the couch's back frame. Sighing inwardly Lyra flipped to her side and drifted into a sleep to the sounds of rain pattering on the windows…

Or were they footsteps?


	10. Chapter 10

Blue woke up surprisingly early, and almost immediately noticed that she was sprawled across both Lyra's and her own sleeping bag. The second thing she noticed was Lyra snoozing peacefully, clutching Blue's foot with passion. She inwardly prayed that she hadn't drooled on her or anything, and slipped her leg away from her grasp. The brown haired girl didn't seem bothered, rolling over.

Standing up and stretching with a bit of a grunt, she looked to the couch. Red was sleeping peacefully, his face void of emotion. Deciding he wouldn't take kindly to her interrupting his sleep, she went to pester Green.

The gym leader of the Viridian Gym was hoping for a peaceful sleep, but with Blue around there was no possibility. Woken from a pleasant dream, he flailed as something- or someone- came crashing down on him. It ended up to be a someone, who was Blue. Shoving her off himself he growled several curses under his breath as she sat on his bed, whispering to him.

"Green! Green! Greeeeeee-" She breathed into his ear.

"GO AWAY. It's 3 AM. You're not supposed to send my day into a downward spiral until at least 8." He hissed, turning over to his side, more particularly the side away from her.

"You don't mean that," She huffed, "Besides, you can't make me go away." Sticking out her tongue at him, she messed around with his hair. With that he got up, pushed her out of his room, and locked the door, all the while with her protesting. Blue jiggled the doorknob a bit. It was most definitely locked. Oh well.

Black awoke to whispering in his ear. "Black. Black. Hey, Blackkk. Your hair is really messy." Blinking once, he turned to see a figure crouching by his bedside. His brain comprehended his surroundings quickly after that. He screamed so loudly that people in Jhoto could've heard.

"What the fuck?" Blue threw her hand over his mouth, releasing once he stopped. "Why'd you go and scream you idiot!" With that she smacked him upside the head as he propped himself up on a shoulder.

"Blue?" Black asked, a bit confused. He rubbed the back of his head painfully.

"BLUE!" Green yelled angrily from his room. She flinched.

"Damn, I'm so popular." She stood, running out his bedroom, stopped and glared at him. "You're lucky I let you off so easy!" And with that she had run out of his line of vision into the front room. Green was seen sprinting through the hall next in pursuit, leaving a very confused Black behind.

Blue raced past Red and Lyra (Lyra looking curious and Red looking slightly annoyed) but not before snatching Lyra's blanket with an 'I NEED THIS K THANKS.'

She was then out the door and running into the night. Green was close on her tail, not bothering to get a jacket, and rocketed after her. Unlike Blue, who always seemed to wear shoes to bed, Green was going hardcore barefoot.

"…What just happened?" Lyra asked to no one in particular. She got no response from Red at first; who was staring intensely at the front door. Finally he shrugged. They sat quietly for a second. Lyra lied down on top of the sleeping bags once again, realizing it was still about four in the morning, and sighed. Suddenly a gentle hand touched Lyra's shoulder, draping a blanket over her. She jumped a bit and looked up, to see a serious looking Red. "O-Oh. Thanks, Red." He retreated to the couch with a nod, and they both resumed their dreaming.

It was almost midday when someone woke Lyra. She was collapsed on the floor, sleeping, when the door swung open, confident steps echoing through the house. The person unpleasantly shook her awake, and she groaned as her eyes adjusted to the light. Someone with blazing hair was standing over her with what it looked like a very serious face. "Lyra? Why are you here?" The voice… it was familiar. She blinked, and her eyes confirmed her hunch.

"Silver…?" She asked sleepily. He snorted at the half-asleep girl.

"Yeah, idiot. Black didn't say anything about you being here, though."

"…What? Why'd Black tell you to come here?" She sat up and tilted her head to the side.

"He didn't. He just … Had an interesting Facebook status that I came to investigate." Silver glanced away and scanned the room, apparently not seeing what he was looking for. "Heh."

"What did he say?" Lyra inquired with a confused look on her face. Silver wasn't the type of person to waste time. Being his rival, she knew he wouldn't go all the way up to Mount Silver for just any reason.

"It sounded stupid the way he wrote it, but apparently he found the 'Legendary Trainer' Red." Silver rolled his eyes, quoting with his fingers. "I told him he was full of BS, but he said that he'd bet his Kyurem on it."

Lyra mumbled something about it not being her problem before tossing a stray TV controller at his leg. "Go away, Silver. You're never any fun."

He eyed her spitefully, and went further into the house. "Where's Black? I want my legendary Pokemon."

"You won't get it." She mumbled into her pillow casually.

"…What?"

"You won't get a legendary Pokemon, Silver, at least not today." She replied, propping herself up onto her elbows. She had a complete poker face on.

He blinked vacantly, staring at her attentively. "You mean-

"Yeah, we found him alright." She smiled at him smugly. "And I know you were hoping for him to be right the whole time. Maybe even more then a legendary?" He scowled. "I can tell because I want the same thing- to battle the Pokemon Master."

His frown turned into a slightly sheepish smile, and he shrugged his shoulders. "You were always good at figuring me out, damn girl." She lifted her chin proudly in response.

"He's not here, now, though, I think he went out an hour ago." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "That does seem a bit long for someone who can't even beat me in arm wrestling, huh?" Silver knew from experience how pathetic Lyra's upper body strength was. It was like arm wrestling a nine-year-old.

"… We should go look for him, then, right?" Silver asked. "Go get Black's lazy ass out of bed and we'll leave."

"Silver, you're so manly, taking control of a drastic situation~" Lyra teased sarcastically as she trotted off to get the Unova trainer. Silver fumed in the front room. Lyra thought Silver was nothing close to manly, and Silver thought Lyra's sarcastic jokes were nowhere close to tolerable.

. . .

A hectic morning it was.


	11. Chapter 11

Red wandered the streets of the town,a familiar capony of mountains in the distance. Almost none of the residence had never been there before, at least before he had decided to venture up Mount Silver's slope. The buildings and people were alien- They were the one piece of his puzzle that didn't, and probably would never fit. The vicious winds of the mountains he once knew were replaced with quiet streets lit with soft light of coming evening. He walked silently along the walls of the many buildings, feeling uneasy in the unusual environment. Almost in a dreamlike haze, he passed chattering people with their Pokemon and watched a few cars glide by. Red vaguely remembered only a dirt road to the Pokemon Center being at the foot of the mountain before. How could something as unmovable as a mountain swing into such a change so readily?

His crimson eyes caught on every object attentively. Houses and stores and even the first development of a sort of small office building. He carefully placed his hand to one, stopping. The red brick of the building scratched against his hand roughly, the noise of the area quieted in his ears. He no longer belonged here. This place was not the misshapen piece of the puzzle. He realized, watching as snow quietly began to fall on the scene, that he was. The mountain had changed, as impossible as it was.

* * *

><p>Lyra, Black, and Silver walked through the streets of Mount Silver's quieting town. It was moving towards evening, and the short days of the snowy area caused it to darken more quickly. They took their time looking down most of the alleyways and streets, knowing he probably wouldn't be inclined to go into any stores.<p>

"It's been a while since we crossed paths, huh?" Silver peered down an intersecting street, glancing back to look at Lyra.

"Yeah, it has been." She followed his gaze. "Nope, not there."

Turning back to face Black, his face twisted into a doubtful glare. "You're not just sending us into a wild goosechase, right? You actually did find him? I don't want to waste time if there's no reason to be here walking around aimlessly."

"We did find him, asshole." Black grumbled, still a bit tired.

Lyra laughed a bit, teasingly. "What, you don't want to spend time with your favorite rival?" She paused to watch his reaction, which was a half hearted glare, before continuing. "We did find him. At the peak. But it's not like you have anything important to do with your time anyway," she scoffed playfully.

"Sure I do," He added defensively. "I could be training my Pokemon instead of this. The mountains are a good place to improve endurance."

"All you do is train," She moaned in response, repeating her previous statement. "You're never any fun!"

He snorted. "Not true. But speaking of Pokémon training, have you guys trained at all since you got here?"

"Nope." Black said nonchalantly. Silver rolled his eyes.

"Uh..." Lyra trailed off, smiling sheepishly. "A bit as soon as I got here, but recently, no... I actually thought about battling Red, but I don't know about that anymore."

"Well, you could always battle me. I've been waiting for a rematch." He stated, and then paused. "Why not battle Red, though? Nobody has gotten the chance for a long time."

"That's the point. I don't think he's interested in battling really." She looked back to the streets. People were starting to move back to their homes, the small sound of gathered friends and family. She looked down an alleyway, slowing a bit.

"Why would he be 'uninterested'? He's the fucking 'Pokémon master', for Arceus' sake." He rolled his eyes a bit, following Lyra as she made her way towards the small alley across the street.

"I don't know, but he only had one Pokémon when he came off the mountain." She said a little quieter, entering the dimmed light of the area between the buildings. A figure sat in the darkness, knees tucked against their chest. The pair of dim, crimson eyes glanced at them for a second before the figure sighed and stood up a bit shakily. Lyra smiled. "Exploring the town? It's pretty big, right?"

He averted his gaze, looking past them to the calm streets before coming to stare at Silver with an intense gaze.

"This is Silver, he's my rival from Jhoto." She explained with a smile.

"I'm not usually this formal with people, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't an honor to meet you." Silver said, crossing his arms and looking away. Red blinked, his only reaction a slight nod. Lyra giggled a bit; Silver looked a slightly embarrassed to admit his admiration.

"Why do you only have a sweatshirt on? It's fuckin' cold out here." Black mumbled tiredly from the back of the party. He was right; Red was wearing a few layers but was lacking a coat. The champion shrugged off the concern dismissively, but Lyra was already shrugging off her own. As she held it out to him, Red shook his head no, leering at her reluctantly.

"You need it more than me," she said simply. He hesitated, finally sighing and giving in. He slipped it on, looking away from the three defensively. Lyra spoke up, seeming a bit happier than before. "We should head back."

* * *

><p>By the time they returned, Green and Blue had sorted out their quarrel and were collapsed on the couch watching TV. Green had his feet in a tub of warm water, unsurprisingly. Blue looked pleased with herself. "Hey guys!" She called happily. "Silver, what's up? Nice of you to join us."<p>

"I probably won't be here long," Silver replied simply. "I came here to meet him, actually."

"Where did you guys go anyway? We were surprised when you three weren't here." Green asked, looking from Lyra, Black and Red with suspicion.

"Just a walk!" Lyra replied quickly. "Nothing to be worried about!"

"Besides, which of us decided to recklessly run outside barefoot?" Blue asked, rubbing her chin in mock wonder. Green crossed his arms, slumping further into the cushions with a small 'Shut up.'

Silver ended up deciding to stay for a bit after all, due to some convincing by Lyra and Black. The mountain was a good place to train after all. They decided to discuss the details over a late lunch, as Black had begun to complain tirelessly about being hungry. They pulled one more chair to the table and chatted over bowls of soup.

"Awesome soup, Green!" Blue chirped happily; by the way Black was shoveling spoonfuls into his mouth you could tell he agreed. Green gave her a grudging 'Thanks.' He still didn't seem over the events that had occurred that morning.

"Anyway, back to what we were talking about in the first place." Green said, turning his attention to Silver. "Since we only have two actual bedrooms and the living room is pretty much full, someone has to partner up, probably you and Black."

"That's fine, I suppose." Silver replied cooly.

Across the table Black choked on his food.

He regained his composure long enough to shout with disbelief. "What?! How's that fair?!"

"Well, the reason he even showed up here is sort of your doing. Besides, you're friends, what's to shout about?" Blue crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at Black. Black still looked exasperated, but slumped in defeat. Silver didn't seemed bothered by the idea, now that he noticed.

"Well... Alright I guess." Black finally agreed.

Red observed the conversation with bored disinterest, moving the soup in his bowl around idly. The talking gradually dissolved back into casual matters, Lyra asking Silver what's Gold been up to and Green talking to Blue about proofreading part of his research paper. There wasn't exactly anything he could contribute, not that he was able to in the first place. He supposed it was just another social aspect of life he didn't particularly excel at. When the topic being discussed transitioned into Pokemon battling however, he was admittedly a bit more interested. Black was talking about the new styles of battle being introduced into the culture of the Unova region, including triple and rotation battles.

"I've heard of rotation battles, but I've never actually participated in one," Silver mused. "It sounds interesting- you must really need to be able to predict your opponent's moves."

Black nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it's all about whether or not you can figure out what you're opponent's going to do. White always beats me in rotation battles though... Honestly I'm not very good." He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

"A triple battle sounds fun to me, I've always been pretty good at double battles!" Lyra had a lot of vigor for this idea. Red snorted a bit at this.

"You know, we could all do a triple battle!" Blue suggested, excited. "Three on Three!" Green frowned a bit at this, glancing at Red, who had decided the wall looked very interesting as soon as the words left Blue's lips.

"Speaking of battles," Silver spoke up, looking towards Red with calculating eyes, "I want to challenge Red."

Red's head suddenly snapped up to meet Silver's gaze, his own eyes void of emotion.

"This really isn't a good time." Green replied, his voice sharp with warning.

Silver turned to Green, his expression unchanged. "Why? He's the champion. If he carries that title he should be expected to fulfil the champion's duty." Silver frowned, "Besides. Once the word gets out that he didn't die on that mountain, trainers from all over are going to want to battle him." This effectively silenced him and he looked away. Silver did have a point.

Red looked away again, Silver watching him closely. By this point the whole table had gone silent. "What, you don't want to battle anymore?" The red eyes came to meet his again, more hesitantly this time, but they remained cold. Silver returned an equally cold gaze, his voice low. "Then it's pointless for you to be the champion at all, isn't it?"

At first neither reacted and held their ground equally. One could have heard a pin drop as the two stared each other down. Suddenly Red pushed himself up from the table, his chair being thrown over as he fled towards and then out the door, leaving it swinging on its hinges in the chilling wind. Blue was soon up after him, calling for him to wait, to no avail. For a moment, the room went silent again. All that remained was the door's rhythmic swinging.

* * *

><p>I've decided resurrect this story. I wonder if any of the story followers are still here...? Haha.<p> 


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